Tennis star Harriet Dart has lauded her fellow Brit Emma Raducanu as the 19-year-old prepares to make her first appearance at the Australian Open on Tuesday. Raducanu will be playing at her first Grand Slam since she stunned the world by winning the US Open in September, but she has a tricky start to the competition as she faces experienced American Sloane Stephens.
As a result of her amazing triumph in New York Raducanu has had to deal with a huge amount of media attention as she became an overnight sensation, and there were some who questioned whether she would be able to cope with the increased scrutiny.
But speaking exclusively to Express Sport Dart, who herself had to get used to plenty of attention from a young age, insisted Raducanu would not struggle with the weight of expectation placed on her young shoulders.
“Firstly, I think she’s been doing a great job with all the media scrutiny she’s had,” Dart said. “She’s very strong and a smart girl, so I think she’s well-equipped to cope with anything that’s thrown her way.
“It’s important to surround yourself with the right people. That definitely helps a lot, and everything else will take care of itself.”
It is certainly an exciting time for British tennis, and Dart added: “The women’s section in particular is looking very healthy. There is a lot of strength in depth and it’s great that we all practice together and are pretty friendly. That helps a lot.
“It shows that if someone can win it we can all do it, and it’s super inspiring for all of us. Hopefully this year we can all push on.”
Dart herself managed to come through qualifying, and takes on Pole Iga Swiatek in the first round on Tuesday.
And she is clearly raring to go, with dreams of progressing deep into the tournament.
“I always enjoy the Australia trip and I’m excited to get going,” she continued.
“I think you saw in the US Open the strength in depth at the moment, so it could be anyone’s tournament. After such a break it will be interesting to see who comes out the blocks early.
“The people who play very well in the tournaments before Slams don’t always play well in the actual tournament. It’s a completely different situation.”
And further down the line, she is already eyeing the big one on the grass in the summer.
“Naturally you always want to play well at Wimbledon. For me it’s really important to keep improving my game and seeing my ranking go up in the right direction.
“I have a new team so it’s been interesting for me to work on a few things that maybe I haven’t addressed so much in the past. But I wouldn’t want to give anything away!”
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